Control for power-operated slips



March 13, 1951 Filed Aug. 26, 1949 FIG. 5.

M. E. TRUE 2,545,177

CONTROL FOR POWER-OPERATED SLIPS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I MVEPHQW Morf'rn E. True,

Patented Mar. 13, 1951 CONTROL FOR POWER-OPERATED SLIPS Martin E, True, Houston, Tex., assignor, by mesne assignments, to Standard Oil Development Company, Elizabeth, N. J., a corporationof Delaware Application August 26, 1949, Serial No. 112,463

9 Claims.

The present invention is directed to apparatus for supporting pipe in a borehole. More particularly, the invention is directed to apparatus ineluding power operated slips and an improvement thereof for supporting pipe in a borehole.

The employment of power operated slips has become common in the drilling industry and has resulted in considerable time saving in making round trips and also has resulted in providing additional safety features for the drilling personnel. However, the driller in employing power operated slips must exercise a considerable amount of skill in setting the tool joints at approximately the same height above the rotary table and he also must coordinate the release of the power slips with the downward motion of the drill pipe. Since control of these two variables is exposed to the human element, it is not infrequent that time in conducting such operation is lost due to the tool joints not being set at the proper point and further failure of coordinating the slip release with the downward motion of the drill pipe may result in dangerous accidents.

It is therefore the main object of the present invention to provide an improved apparatus which allows automatic control for power operated slips.

Another object of the present invention is to provide apparatus which permits the slips to be set so that the tool joints are at approximately the same height above the rotary table when going into or coming out of the holes with pipe stands.

.Another object of the present invention is to provide apparatus forcoordinating the power slip release with the downward motion of the drill pipe.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a device for setting power operated slips.

Another object of the present invention is to provide apparatus for automatically setting power operated slips when a tool jointis at a predetermined point above the rotary table.

Other objects of the invention will become apparent by reference to the following drawing in which Y Fig. 1 presents a side view of the improved apparatus illustrating the device employed in coming out of the hole with the pipe;

Fig. 2 is a view taken along the lines I--I of downwardly thereon;

Fig. 4 is an embodiment of the present invention illustrating the apparatus to be employed in going into the hole with the pipe;

Fig. 5 is a modified embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 6 is a view of Fig. 5 showing the device-of Fig. 5 with the apparatus moved out of position.

The principal parts of the present invention comprise power operated pipe slips including lifting means and power means, and an arm mounted on the lifting means with tension means mounted on the lifting means opposing downward movement of the arm. The arm may be provided with a pivotabl attached extension arm extendingover the area adjacent the borehole and adapted to come in contact with a tool joint of a pipe stand or with elevators employed in lowering pipe stands in the hole. .A valve mounted on the lifting means is adapted to be actuated by downward movement of the arm and is provided with conduit means for conveying hydraulic fluid under pressureto the. valve and from the valve to the power means. The .arm may be connected to a piston arranged in a cylinder and may be slidably mounted on the lifting means and the valve may be provided with means for conveyingfluid from said valve to .said cylinder as well as to said power means.

In the several figures. of the drawing, identical numerals will be employed to designate identical parts. l

Referring now to the drawing, numeral designates a pipe stand which is being raised out of a borehole through rotary table l3 arranged on the floor M of a conventional derrick. Arranged on and below derrick floor M are power operated slips l5 including a lifting yoke or ring l6 which is connected by conventional connecting means I! to hydraulically power operated means [8 which extend below floor. M. It is understood,-

of course, that means |8 may be operated with allows the lifting ring or means Hi to beraised or lowered as desired at the will of the driller and cause the slips IE to be set or released as desired. Arranged in. lifting means I6 is a cylinder l9'in which is provided a piston 20 which is attached to a rod 2| which extends through a conventional stufflng box 22 in cylinder [9. Arm 2| is slidably mounted on lifting means I6 by mounting means 23 which is attached rigidly to lifting means l6. Arm 2| is pivotably attached at pivot 24' to an extension arm 25 which is in the form of. a yoke and is adapted to engage with a. tool joint 26-. of stand Opposing the downward mov'ement of extension arm 25 is a spring 21 which is attached to lifting means I9 and which is adapted to slide in slit 28 of arm 25. Spring 21 is provided with a plate 29 which makes a sliding fit with slot 28 and slides therein. Arm 25 is provided with an actuator 30 which may comprise a spring or air loaded plunger. Actuator 30 cooperates with arm 25 in actuating valve 3| which is mounted on lifting means I6.

Connecting to valve 3| is a conduit 32 connecting it to a source of supply not shown of compressed air or other hydraulic fluid and leading from valve 3| is a second conduit 33 which provides air or other hydraulic fluid to power means I8 of slips I5. A third conduit 34 connects valve 3| to cylinder I9.

Cylinder I9 is provided with a conduit 35 connecting into valve 35 and conduit 31 which also connects to a source of air or other hydraulic fluid not shrown Valve 36 is mounted on a bracket or upright member 38 and is provided with a lever arm 39 which is actuated by upward movement of slip connecting means II.

Referring now to Fig. 4 an embodiment of my invention is shown for employment when going into the hole. The extension arm 25 of Fig. 1 has substituted for it an arm 40 which similar to arm 25 is provided with a slot 4i. Resting on slips lifting 'mean's I6 is a spring 42 provided which lifting means 16 has mounted thereon a mounting member 50 on which is pivoted on pivot an arm 52 which may be in the form of a yoke similar to extension arm or in the form of a simple arm as arm 40 in Fig. 4. Mounted on arm 52 is actuating device 53 which is similar to actuating device 30. Downward movement of arm 52 is opposed by a coil spring 54 which is rigidly attached by attachment 55 to lifting ring or means I6. Actuat ng member '53 is designed to actuate valve 56 through a tilting means 51. Valve 56 is provided with an inlet line 58 connecting to a source of air or other hydraulic fiuid 'andian outlet line 59 connect ng to the power meansior the power o erated slips.

The device of the present invention is brou ht "into operative condition when coming out of the hole by raising the pipe stand I l upwardly to.

cause arm 25 to be pivoted upwardly to allow tool "joint 26 to pass the yoke defined by arm 25. After the tool joint 26 "has passed the arm 25 the driller may cause the pipe stand to be lowered slightly, which brings the tool joint into engagementwith arm '25 and causes spring 21 to be depressed, wh'ich in turn allows actuator to operate valve 31. As valve 3| is operated air or other hydraulic fluid "is admitted to the valve 3| by conduit 32, which in turn admits air or other v hydrauliciiuid by conduits 33 and 34 to thepower means to operate the slips 'andto the cylinder I9. Admission of .air or other hydraulic fluid to the power means causes the slips to'be set in a conventional manner and admission of air or other hydraulic fluid to cylinder I9 causes the piston 20 to be moved to the left and to move with it a'Il'h '21 and extension arm 25 out 'Of the path of the tool joints of the pipe stand as the elevators bring up another pipe stand.

When the driller releases the slips to allow the pipe to be brought up by the elevators the upward movement of connecting means It causes valve 36 to be operated by pressing upwardly on lever arm 39 thus allowing air or other hydraulic fluid to be admitted slowly into the cylinder I9 and cause piston 23 and arms 2! and extension arm 25 to move to the right and put the extension arm 25 into operative position.

The device of Fig. 4 operates in a similar manner excepting that arm til is substituted for extension arm 25 and is designed to be put in operation by contact with elevators 45. As the stand II is going into the hole the elevators 45 coming in contact with arm 43 cause the arm 46 to be pivoted downward and compress spring 42 which in turn results in actuator 39 coming in contact with valve 3i and admitting air or hydraulic fluid through line 32 and outwardly therefrom through lines 33 and 34 to the power means I8 and to the cylinder 59 respectively causing the slips to be set and also to retract arm 2! and arm Gil out of the way of the elevators as they pass arm 49.

It will be readily seen from the discussion of the devices of Figures 1-4 inclusive that the tool joint of pipe ii may be set automatically at approximately the same height above the rotary table each time and that the driller is relieved of the responsibility of coordinating the power slip release with the downward motion of the drill pipe.

The device of Figures 5 and 6 operates in a similar manner to that of Figures 1-4 inclusive. In this particular embodiment the cylinder and the arm connecting thereto are dispensed with and the arm 52 is pivoted on a mounting means 5@. As the tool joint H comes in contact with arm 52 the arm 52 is depressed downwardly against spring 5d and the plunger of actuator 53 comes in contact with tilting means 57 and causes valve to become operative and to allow air or other hydraulic fluid to pass therethrough and to be conducted by line 59 to power means I8 which causes operation of slips i5, as has been described.

It will be seen from the operation of Figures 5 and 6 that a simple device is provided which causes the slips to be set on contact of the arm '52 with the tool joints.

While not described, it will be understood that the arm 52 may be replaced by arms similar to that of arm 45 for employment when going into the hole with the pipe as described in connection with Fig. 4.

It will also be understood that while a coil spring has been shown in the embodiments of Figures 1-4, that a leaf spring such as described in Figures 5 and 6 may be used in lieu thereof and also that a coil spring such as described in Figures 1 to '4 may be used in the apparatus of Figures 5 and 6.

In efiect, operation of automatic slip setting device is caused by downward movement of the pipe string. Thus, either the tool joint or the elevators carrying the load causes the present device to operate as either one of them contacts the arm extending over the area adjacent the bore hole.

'The nature and objects of the present invention having been completely described and illustrated, what I wish to claim "as new and useful and to secure by Letters Patent is:

said lifting means and extending over the area adjacent the borehole and adapted to be defiected downward by downward movement of a pipe string, tension means mounted on said lifting means opposing downward movement of said arm, a valve mounted on said lifting means adapted to be actuated by downward movement of said arm, and means for conveying fluid under pressure to said valve and from said valve to said power means.

2. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 in which the arm mounted on said lifting means is yoke shaped and is adapted to engage with a tool joint of said pipe.

3. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 in which the arm mounted on said lifting means is pivotably mounted.

4, Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 in which the arm mounted on said lifting means is slidably mounted.

5. Apparatus in accordance with claim 4 in which the slidably mounted arm includes a pivoted extension arm.

6. Apparatus for supporting pipe in a borehole which comprises, in combination, pipe slips including a lifting means and fluid operated power means for said slips, a cylinder mounted on said lifting means, a piston in said cylinder, an arm attached to said piston slidably mounted on said lifting means, an extension arm pivotably attached to said slidably mounted arm and. extending over the area adjacent the borehole and adapted to be deflected downward by downward movement of a pipe string, tension means opposing downward movement of said extension arm, a valve mounted on said lifting means adapted to be actuated by downward movement of said extension arm, and meansfor conveying fluid under pressure to said valve and from said valve to said cylinder and to said power means.

7. Apparatus in accordance with claim 6 in which the extension arm is yoke shaped and is adapted to engage with a tool joint of said pipe.

8. Apparatus for supporting pipe in a borehole which comprises, in combination, pipe slips including a lifting ring and hydraulically operated power means for said slips, a cylinder mounted on said lifting ring, a piston in said cylinder, an arm attached to said piston slidably mounted onsaid lifting ring, an extension arm pivotably attached to said slidably mounted arm, a spring on said lifting ring opposing downward movement of said extension arm, a valve mounted on said lifting ring adapted to be actuated by downward movement of said extension arm, and a conduit for conveying hydraulic fluid to said valve and from said valve to said cylinder and to said power means.

9. Apparatus in accordance with claim 8 in which the extension arm is yoke shaped and is adapted to engage with a tool joint of said pipe.

MARTIN E. TRUE.

No references cited. 

